Search the letters

The Vaughan Williams Foundation has made over 5000 items freely available: chiefly letters from Ralph Vaughan Williams, but including some responses which shed light on the subject matter, and also a number of letters from Adeline and Ursula Vaughan Williams. These provide further information and often include messages or observations from Ralph, and there are also letters from Adeline and Ursula written on behalf of the couple. The text of letters written by RVW and UVW remain the copyright of the Foundation.

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The letters are in tabular form and can be sorted by column, or filtered by any keyword including name, musical title, year or subject (singly or in combination). Partial matches will also be found, e.g. searching “sky” will also find “Stravinsky”. To search for a phrase use inverted commas, e.g. “New York”.

To search by letter number, include the prefix VWL, e.g. VWL123.

Filter letters

Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL399 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19140415 15th April 1914
VWL1193 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Chapman 19470325 [25 March, 1947]
VWL841 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Chapman 19450210 Feb 10 [1945]
VWL4930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric George Millar 19140830 [end August 1914]
VWL3585 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19571014 [October ?1957]
VWL2242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19510520 20 May 1951
VWL465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19200319 19/3/20
VWL360 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19100307 [7th March 1910]
VWL415 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141024 [24th October 1914]
VWL2229 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19510512 12th May 1951.
VWL372 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19110617 [17th June 1911]
VWL3126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19510521 [21 May 1951]
VWL3643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 195----- [1950s?]
VWL2341 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Ferdinand Rauter 19510515 [ca 15 May 1951]
VWL3661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19541026 26th October 1954
VWL4769 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Shaw 19521012 October 12th, 1952
VWL4118 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19510522 [22 May, 1951]
VWL779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19350911 Sep 11 [1935]
VWL489 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19220129 [29th January 1922]
VWL541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19240203 3 Feb 1924
VWL4329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19470513 13 May 1947
VWL4693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19570825 25 Aug 1957
VWL4478 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Britten 195710-- [late October 1957?]
VWL2238 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19510517 17th May 1951
VWL5233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19190502 2/5/19
VWL2634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice and Herbert Sumsion 19530201 [1 February 1953]
VWL3978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19290905 5 September 1929
VWL3979 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19291221 21 Dec 1929
VWL3457 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561229 [29th December 1956]
VWL2789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540221 [21 February 1954]

You have never lost your invention but it has not developed enough.  Your best – your most original and beautiful style or ‘atmosphere’ is an indescribable sort of feeling as if one was listening to very lovely lyrical poetry.

GUSTAV HOLST letter to RVW 1903

He was one of the most 'complete' men I have ever known. He loved life, he loved work and his interest in all music was unquenchable and insatiable.

SIR JOHN BARBIROLLI, conductor

I was thunderstruck by the symphony last night - and hadn't expected to be. Jagged, pulsating and angry, from that very first clanging dissonance - how can it have come from the same source as the Tallis Fantasia?

AUDIENCE MEMBER, Newbury Festival